Friday, December 20, 2013

Sherlock - Martin Freeman On Sherlock Series Three

It's Martin Freemans turn to spill the beans on the upcoming three epsidode series three of Sherlock. But don't expect him to reveal all.

Source: BBC Media Centre

An interview with Martin Freeman, who plays John Watson in BBC One's Sherlock.

What was it like being back together for the first read-through?

It
was good – it had a kind of familiarity about it, we had new people
joining which was lovely. Given that it was our third time, or fourth
including the pilot, it just feels nice and familiar. It’s always
exciting because the scripts are so good.

Two years have passed since Sherlock faked his death. How do you think this has affected John and how has be moved on?
His
best friend has died horribly in front of him, which took a long time
to get over, but the way that his life has moved on is that he has
fallen in love with Mary. He is leading a functional, normal-ish life
really which doesn’t have the highs and lows of his life with Sherlock
but is certainly a bit more steady. But there is a sadness with John
which will always be with him when you lose someone that you love – he
is slightly dulled by life.

Could you empathise with John’s reaction to Sherlock’s reappearance?

I
can completely empathise. If someone came into your life after you
thought they were dead it would be a major event, and given that
Sherlock is the way he is, he winds John up a lot, and that is when they
are getting on! But coming back from the dead - John is hit very hard
by that.

What do viewers have in store for this series?

Lars
Mikkelsen is fantastic, he is a brilliant villain. For those who will
miss Moriaty, which is totally understandable, we have another fantastic
nemesis for Sherlock and John – he does it superbly. Of course, having
Mary Morstan around is good because that adds another dynamic to
Sherlock and John’s relationship and another dimension to John’s life.
It was great having Amanda Abbington on board – she was brilliant, I
like working with her!

Are you surprised by the massive online reaction to the show?

I
don’t think any one of us could have dreamt that there would be that
sort of reaction. Never mind online, but the entirety of the success
that it has had we could never have dreamt about. People used to ask me
about 'The Office'. They would say 'did you know it would be this huge
thing?' and there was certainly no way we could of known how big
Sherlock could have been. I would have settled for it being a really
good show that some people really loved. But the fact that it has been
feted and honoured – we could never have spotted that coming.

And
the online thing is certainly a thread of our fanbase – and it’s a very
vocal one. I think what’s important not to forget is that it’s not the
only one, there are so many people who just watch it on BBC One when it
comes out and love it. But the online thing is surprising in a way
because they have almost created another world, especially if you are
over 30 because it still seems like that stuff is really new. Especially
the sort of reaction we have had, I mean other shows do get it as well,
but we are one of those shows that people go absolutely barmy for. And
it’s nice! I’d much rather that than people ignored it!

What do you think it is that has made Sherlock such a global success?

I
guess we were lucky in that we already had Sherlock Holmes, who is one
of the most famous fictitious characters in literature. Every
incarnation of Sherlock Holmes has been of interest to somebody. And it
has been a while since it has been updated. The last time I can think of
was Basil Rathbone. So it’s a contemporary look at it which hasn’t been
done for a while written by three of the best writers around, thought
up by two of the best writers around. It’s beautifully shot, beautifully
designed, rather well acted. It’s one of those rare things you can be
in where you think every single department is storming it. It looks
beautiful, it’s written beautifully and it’s well cast.

What is it about Sherlock that inspires such loyalty from John do you think?

He’s
a pretty magnetic bloke. He’s very intelligent and there is something
mesmeric about his obsessiveness as well. He’s the cleverest bloke that
John has ever met and he likes that challenge and the share of the
danger as well. Because John is ultimately into danger as well, he is a
solider and a doctor so he is around situations that are perilous and a
bit tasty, so he responds to that in Sherlock and he just wants to be
around him – I sometimes don’t even know why!

What’s been your favourite episode to date?

I
have to say the ones that we have just filmed have been brilliant.
Before that, probably Reichenbach was my favourite one to do because
when we read it I was really, really excited and I thought the finished
product was amazing. It was one of the best things that I’ve ever done
and am likely to do for a while.

But then I found that about the
episodes we have just done. It’s particularly important you end on a
fantastic third one and the third episode in the third series is
stellar. Everyone’s work on it is great and it’s a Steven Moffat special
which is always good, but they are all so good! I was very, very
excited when I read this one – it’s one of the best scripts I’ve ever
read.

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